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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Naked Books

As my living room turns more into a book-clogged library every day, I wonder whether I should leave the volumes' dust covers on. There's something about the naked spines of hardcovers that I find elegant and timeless. Where do you stand on this issue?

(Pictured are the books I have been reading since Christmas. All three are highly recommended! Anna Pavord's The Naming of Names charts the history of botany as a science and is lavishly illustrated. Ted Hughes's recently published letters allow the reader to see the poet at work, as he struggles with his writings, and also reveal a lot about his relation to his first wife, fellow poet Sylvia Plath; his letters to his children are quite moving and humorous. As for Bears, which I've only just started, it explores the history the man-bear bond, especially through folklore and anthropological insights - it's a great, great book for anyone interested in animals and/or the environment).

6 comments:

Just took a whole bunch off of my books when I put together my bookshelf. A family member liked it so much they had me style their bookshelves and I took more covers off then too. So, yes I love this idea!Makes an old book look just like new.

Yes, I almost always take of the dust jackets, mostly as a convenience (they always get distracting, feel clumsy in your hands) I do like how they protect the nice hardbacks from spillages and so forth. Sometimes the book jacket designs are too nice for me to get rid of.